How to Effectively Use Lab Time
1. Come to lab prepared. As for any college credit hour, you would expect to spend a minimum of 2 hours preparing for lab. We will review the lab information, but would prefer that most of the lab time be spent applying the information and perfecting psychomotor performance.
2. Make friends and form a cohesive work group. Your scheduled learning lab time will be used for independent study/practice, small group study/practice, and validating your learning. You are expected to identify your learning needs and take full advantage of the opportunities in the learning lab.
3. Utilize the instructors to answer any questions you may have about your readings or video tapes and to give you helpful hints on how to improve your skills technique.
4. Think principles. There are many ways to do the skills, but the ACC-ADN faculty have agreed on a way we want you to learn skills. For each skill, there is a check-off form. In addition, you should review any videos that are posted.
5. The Learning Lab modules are posted for each skill that will be practiced in the lab. Your calendar will tell you when that content will be covered or should be completed. Use this material to prepare for lab; some will be used in lab. If you have any questions about the lab, don't hesitate to ask.
Attendance
Attendance in the learning laboratory is essential to your learning. You cannot develop psychomotor skills by reading or watching, you have to practice. When an absence from the lab occurs contact a faculty member at the earliest possible time. You will need to read and get notes from a peer, but you want the faculty to know that you have taken action to meet the objectives, especially that you have practiced the skills and completed hands-on activities. Open practice hours for the learning lab are available; check the schedule for your campus.
Setting Your Goals
1. Keep your eyes on the prize. Your time in the learning lab is meant to be spent practicing and improving your skills prior to going into the hospital to carry out these skills on your patient. Preparation on your part, prior to your scheduled lab is essential for your successful progression in the ADN program. In most labs, the focus will be supervised practice with limited lecture or demonstration time.
2. Practice as though you will have to perform the skill on a real patient with no instructor present. It is your clinical instructor's expectation that once the material has been presented and you have practiced the skill in the lab, you will be able to safely perform the skill in the hospital. You should be able to explain the basic procedure when asked and demonstrate appropriate procedural steps and application of the principles (the why) that support your actions. Instructors will help you in the hospital, but in front of a patient is not the time to be taught a skill – you need to know what you are doing. Most skills will only be performed in the hospital under the direct supervision of your clinical instructor. You will be told by your instructor which skills these are; follow the instructions carefully.
3. When practicing a skill, try to avoid pretending. Make the situation as real as possible. For example, don't say "Pretend there is a bag for waste here". Get one. Otherwise, you will get to the hospital without your hands having the skill of dropping something in a waste bag. Sometimes we have to pretend, but keep it to a minimum.
4. Focus on principles. We are in a period of transition in healthcare delivery in the United States. The role of the registered nurse may change dramatically. Nurses in the 21st century will function in a constantly changing environment of new technology and methods of practice. Education for this environment must develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Your learning lab is designed to help you develop the ability to analyze a nursing task and develop your nursing practice in novel situations.
5. Last, but not least, be patient with yourself as you learn the various skills. We will do a lot of simulation in the lab, which is necessary to learn some of the skills. The simulations will never totally prepare you for the first time you will do a skill with your patient in the hospital. That is one reason your instructor will be there to assist you as needed. They know you may be nervous, but practice does help you prepare and will decrease a lot of that nervousness. Don't let your anxiety get the best of you.
Grading
Evaluation of lab skills is through mastery demonstrations. In addition, learning lab content is included in the major exams and the cumulative final exam.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR BRINGING THE CHECKLISTS FOR MASTERY DEMONSTRATION TO EACH LAB CLASS.